School Guide

Malaysian Top IGCSE Scorer in the World, Cheryl Chow Loves to Watch Dramas and Would Spend All Day on Them

Published by SchoolAdvisor | May 27, 2021

Cheryl Chow Shu Wei has always believed in herself when it comes to putting the best effort in everything that she does. Even so, Cheryl never thought she would be named ‘Top in the World’ for IGCSE Chemistry by the Cambridge Assessment International Education (CAIE) just recently.

Cheryl’s outstanding achievement has garnered attention from media outlets and she has also received a congratulatory message from the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and Raja Permaisuri Agong.

SchoolAdvisor talks to Cheryl in an exclusive interview to learn more about her journey and tips to excel in studies:

SchoolAdvisor: Firstly, a big congratulations on your achievement. How does it feel?

Cheryl: Thank you. I was surprised and excited when I was informed that I had been awarded the Top in the World for Chemistry by Cambridge. I knew that I had done well for the subject, but I had never dreamt that I would be receiving an award for it.

SchoolAdvisor: To what do you attribute your success?

Cheryl: I have been successful thanks to the help of my teachers at Beaconhouse who have been patiently teaching and guiding me throughout my years of studies. My brother has always been my role model and this has encouraged me to aim for higher goals. He had also achieved a similar award during his IGCSE examination.

Many people have been looking forward to my successes in the future. Although it may have been quite a burden, I believe that this has played a role in pushing me towards my achievements. I would also like to thank my family members who have always encouraged me to do my best and never to worry about the end results. My friends have also been a great source of inspiration as they have accompanied me through my ups and downs and made my life a much happier and joyful one. Overall, I think all the people around me have contributed to my success.

SchoolAdvisor: Tell us about your educational journey throughout primary and secondary school.

Cheryl: I started off in a national school near my housing area; S.K. Taman Bukit Maluri. Spending my early years there and having many loving and caring teachers, I acquired a love for school. I became a more disciplined and responsible person as I was appointed to take on several positions and responsibilities. I also picked up several good habits which include good time management and the ability to multitask that comes in very handy now.

In 2016, I joined Beaconhouse Sri Inai and it was a totally different experience from what I had in primary school. School life became much more interesting as the methods of teaching and learning were different. Other than that, I realised that learning was not just about listening to what the teachers taught and memorising chunks of facts from the books, it was more than that.

Being in an international school, I was exposed to many different activities such as mathematics and sports competitions. I also participated actively in many sporting events and tried out several different clubs in which I was able to find my passion towards my current hobby, volleyball.

SchoolAdvisor: With the pandemic going on, how do you manage your studies at home?

Cheryl: As there is a fixed timetable for weekdays, I did not have much problem deciding on when I wanted to study. I always made use of my time wisely by not wasting it on revision whenever I was not in the mood for it. I also set early deadlines for all my work so that I will always be ready beforehand and in case of a delay, I will still be punctual to submit all my work. Generally, my weekends were spent with my family members during the day and at night, I would contact my friends and we would accompany each other to study online.

SchoolAdvisor: What kept you motivated in your studies?

Cheryl: Self-expectation as well as the expectations of my family and teachers have encouraged me to work hard in pursuing better academic results as I did not want to let any of them down. I am a person who loves to watch dramas and movies and if I could, I would watch them throughout the day.

Thus, I motivated myself to quickly finish my revisions so that I could watch my shows without guilt. My friends were also happy with my results throughout the years and I felt that I should maintain my grades so I could help and guide them with their difficulties in their studies.

SchoolAdvisor: You have been very active in extracurricular activities, what are some of the extracurricular activities you were involved in and why did you choose those?

Cheryl: I started sports activities in primary school, but it became a more prominent part of my school days when I took up an interest in volleyball. I had previously joined several other sports events, but they did not seem to suit my taste or abilities. When I started my journey as a volleyball player, I felt exhilarated to be able to join such a fun and enjoyable club. It has built up my ability to cooperate and work as a team.

I also signed up for several external competitions and these include the Kangaroo maths competition as well as the Maths Olympiad competition. I was encouraged by my teachers to participate in these competitions as my capability in dealing with numbers is pretty good. Eventually, I joined competitions such as essay competitions and economics competitions which were new experiences for me.

In primary school, I participated in a performing arts club where I was chosen by my teachers to play a traditional instrument known as Caklempong. As I did not have any musical background, I was very keen on learning it. I also had the opportunity to perform at the “Majlis Apresiasi Pengarah Filem Malaysia” in 2014 with my group of friends.

SchoolAdvisor: How important do you think these activities are for succeeding?

Cheryl: I think it is important as it was a form of relaxation for me whenever I played sports and I was able to relieve my stress by doing so. This is because during the game I put aside all my concerns regarding my schoolwork and I could freely have fun with my friends. This enabled me to not only exercise my body but to improve my social skills.

Participating in competitions and receiving recognition for them, I was encouraged to seek progress and pursue greater success in these areas.

SchoolAdvisor: How do you juggle between your studies and extracurricular activities?

Cheryl: On weekdays, school is from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. followed by extracurricular activities that last for two hours where I take this time to enjoy myself. I would do some revision at night on some days when I do not understand what was taught for the day. Other than that, I try to focus in class and finish my homework in school if I can find time in between so that time would not be wasted.

SchoolAdvisor: What are some of the challenges and hurdles you faced during this journey and how did you overcome them?

Cheryl: Having performed well throughout my school life has brought about several challenges. The chief challenge is to live up to the expectations of the people around me and I have overcome this partially by giving my best and not worrying over the end result.

However, I still suffer from anxiety when an exam approaches but isn’t this a natural phenomenon? I was not always the top for everything and even in the things I excelled in, I would still face some disappointment. Over the years, these things seemed less important, and I just accept it as it is. I was keen on not letting my past affect my present and future.

SchoolAdvisor: What are your plans for the future?

Cheryl: To be very honest, I do not have much of a plan yet. Given any course to study, I think I would be able to perform but I have yet to identify what I am aiming for. Currently, I have taken up the AUSMAT pre-university programme offered in Sunway College where I hope to realise where my interest lies before deciding on which field to further my studies in.

For our readers’ information, being awarded ‘Top in the World’ for IGCSE Chemistry is not Cheryl’s only achievement. She was crowned the overall top participant at the prestigious Mangahigh East Asia Maths Ninja Challenge 2019 and bagged gold in the national level Kangaroo Math Competition, besides receiving a top achiever award in the 2019 The University of St Andrews Maths Competition. She also earned gold finalist recognition in the international level The Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition in 2019 and 2020.

Naturally, we were keen to know what her study routines and practices were that made it possible for her to achieve all of the mentioned awards. These are the seven golden tips that have been told to us and we think as parents, these tips will be greatly useful for your children as well:

1.   Study consistently, do not do last minute revision.

2.   Do not go on a study marathon. Take a short break in between studying.

3.   Do past years papers as they guide you in answering the questions and familiarise you with the format and style of the papers.

4.   Working on questions will help you to understand the facts easier and better.

5.   Check the marking scheme after doing the past years papers and you see what the examiners expect you to write as your answers.

6.   Study relaxingly while listening to some music.

7.   Get enough sleep so that you will be able to focus as much as possible in class.

For more inspiring stories, check out:

Jarell, A Malaysian Who Beat More Than 50,000 Applicants And Got Into Harvard

Malaysian Scholar Going Stanford, Ivan Avannus